Forever Love
by WithoutAnyRain
Summary: Bella and Edward have been taking it easy after the Volturi left two years ago,and Renesmee is getting smarter every day. All is peaceful in Forks, WA. But how long will it last? DISCLAMER: Stephenie Meyer owns her characters!
1. Chapter 1

**Forever Love**

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."  
_-Saint-Exupery_

Ch 1. Sunrise

_Forever._

I don't think I ever really grasped the concept of forever. Just because forever is such a long time.

"Bella?" Edward whispered. We were entwined together on our bed, waiting for dawn.

"Yes?"

"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly. I answered him by showing him my thoughts. It was much easier to get rid of the invisible shield that encompassed my mind now. It had been two years since the Volturi had come to destroy us all because of one small mistake made by Tanya's sister, Irena. Long ago, Tanya, Irena, and Kate all had lived together with their mother, but she had turned a baby into a vampire, and he couldn't be controlled. The Volturi stepped in and killed her and the child, but had left Tanya and her sisters alone, only because they hadn't known about the illegal creation. They had all learned a lesson about the Volturi's rules, and were deeply wounded by the loss of their mother. When Irena had come to Forks, she had seen Renesmee, Jacob, and I hunting, and thought Renesmee was one of those forbidden children, and went to the Volturi. They had come to see what was going on, and had found out that she was just a half-vampire-half-human child. Sadly, Irena had paid with her life for her small err in judgment.

I was thinking about Renesmee. She was now the equivalent of a 5 year old, and getting smarter every day. She could already play the piano almost as well as Edward, and she talked more instead of using her gift. Now she only used it when she was in close proximity to us. Which she was, most of the time.

"Ah." He sighed. I could hear a smile in his voice. I looked at him. He was looking at me, his golden eyes smoldering. "She's dreaming." he mused, then his face took on the slightest hint of annoyance. "Let me guess," I raised one eyebrow, "Jacob?"

"Yes." He said reluctantly.

Jacob, of course, was taking an active roll in taking care of Renesmee, and lately, had been spending more and more time with her. I sighed. "Well, he did imprint on her, so what else should we expect?" I mumbled, almost incoherently.

"I guess you're right…" He murmured as he kissed down my neck.

About an hour later, we could see that the stars were beginning to disappear on the horizon. Renesmee had wanted to stay at the house, the night before, so we had let her. Edward and I ran through the trees, into the dark shade of the towering oaks. As we approached, we could hear her playing the first song Edward had taught her. It was a simple little melody, but sweet. It was her favorite.

"Daddy!' she called, as we walked through the front door. She ran and jumped into his arms. "How's my little angel? I hope you haven't been annoying Esme." he looked over at Esme, who was already shaking her head. "Oh no, she's been nothing but quiet all night. And she smelled you all coming." Esme grinned.

"You did?" he asked Nessie. "Yes." She nodded. Edward turned to me and smiled. I smiled back. "She's daddy's little girl."

Renesmee had also taken to eating human food every so often.

"What would you like for breakfast Nessie?" I asked. I doubted that she had wanted to go hunting today. She thought for a moment. "Cereal." She replied.

"Okay then," Edward said. "Breakfast time for the half-human." Edward started tickling her and she giggled. He walked into the kitchen to get her some breakfast, while I sat on the couch beside Esme.

"Where is everyone?" I looked over at her questioningly. I had noticed that she was the only one there when we came in.

"Carlisle decided to go hunting, and Rose and Alice wanted to go, so Emmett and Jasper went with them. They didn't go far." She replied. I noticed that her eyes were dark, but not black.

"Aren't you thirsty Esme?" I asked, "You can go if you want, we'll stay here with Nessie."

"Oh no, I'm fine for now, thank you. I just thought I'd spend some time with her." She nodded toward the kitchen. I got up and walked into the kitchen, and saw Edward sitting next to Nessie at the big dining room table. Renesmee was enjoying her cereal, and Edward looked up at me, and smiled crookedly. I just stood there and looked at him for a moment. "What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing." I walked over and kissed him softly. I knew he wanted to know, so I showed him my thoughts. "Hmmmm…" he just looked at me, his eyes gleaming.

Then I heard a distant howl. An ominous sound, that was all too familiar to me.

"It's all right. It's just Jake calling Seth and Leah," Edward explained. "They've been patrolling a bit."

Then I heard them. Everyone was running home, and they seemed to be in a hurry.

Edward got up and went to the door. He looked like he was concentrating on something. Then he started laughing.

"Emmett wanted to race home, and they all joined in. I guess it was because I wasn't there to beat them all." He smiled crookedly again, and I laughed."You would have won." I said matter-of-factly, and he nodded. Then Edward stepped back a few feet from the door, just before Emmett came bursting through it. Then came Jasper and Alice, Carlisle, and Rosalie. They were all laughing.

"Whew," Emmett said proudly. "Now that was fun." "You're a cheater, Emmett." Jasper stood behind him, looking only slightly annoyed from his loss. "You're just a sore loser, Jazz." Emmett retorted, grinning widely. "Oh, stop it guys," Alice stepped in-between them and put her arms around Jasper's waist. "Don't worry, Jasper. You'll get him back later." Jasper smiled. "Excellent."

Emmett and Rosalie went upstairs, while Carlisle sat with Esme, and Alice and Jasper went back outside for some alone time. Edward came back in the kitchen and picked up Renesmee and took my hand. He led me over to the window-wall, and we just stood there watching the sunrise. It was just as beautiful as it was from our cottage, and the deep purples and hazy oranges slowly transformed into a light shade of sky blue. I hadn't realized how much time had passed, until I glanced at the clock.

We had stood there for an entire two hours without moving, but it felt like ten minutes had passed. It was an odd feeling, knowing things were passing you by, though they had no effect on you at all. At some point Carlisle and Esme had left, to give us some privacy. I hadn't noticed. I felt like I should have been bored from just standing still for so long, but I wasn't.

Renesmee had fallen asleep in Edward's arms, and he was rocking her gently. "You were so worried…"I said to him quietly. "About me missing things…like this." I looked at our child and smiled. Edward smiled too. "Of course I was…" He whispered. "I never wanted to take anything from you." I shook my head. "But you never did." I stepped closer to him. "This is all I'll ever need." I kissed him on the cheek and he just gazed at me for a moment. "Sometimes I just can't believe she's ours…" He said thoughtfully, looking back down at Nessie. "She amazes me every day…" The reverence in his voice was still there. And it would probably never fade.

Later in the day, Charlie called, wanting to know if he could see Renesmee. We drove down, and spent a few hours with him, and Sue. She had stayed with him for a while now, and he seemed more at ease with Renesmee's fast pace. He had gotten used to it not long after the other vampires had left from our gathering. We still saw them from time to time, but they tended to stay put, wherever they were. Garrett and Kate had come to visit a few months back, and Garrett had been adjusting well to his new "vegetarian" diet. His eyes had been bright gold when I had seen him last, and he had told me he liked his new lifestyle. I had suspected as much. And Alice had seen an upcoming visit from Peter and Charlotte, which Jasper was looking forward to.

Nothing too exciting had happened since the Volturi had left, and I was thankful for the peace.


	2. Ch 2 Renee

Ch.2 Renee

Edward pulled up into Charlie's driveway, and cut the engine. It was raining lightly. I sighed. Charlie had invited us to visit today. Again. Edward chuckled, reading the slight annoyance in my eyes. "He's happy love. Isn't that what you wanted?" He raised an eyebrow playfully and grinned. "Yes, but this is the fourth time this week that he's wanted to see Nessie. I'm not sure it's safe for him to be so happy _all _the time. I'm afraid his heart might explode." I said sarcastically.

"Let's hope not. That wouldn't help your self control much, or mine, for that matter." He chuckled quietly again. "Tasteful joke." I shot an exasperated look at him as he got out of the car. I got Nessie from the back seat and walked with her and Edward up to the front stoop. I knocked on the door lightly. I heard Charlie hurriedly get up from wherever he had been sitting, and take a few steps to the door.

"How've you guys been?" Charlie asked as he ushered us in from the predictable drizzle. "Fine." I called over my shoulder. We walked into the living room and I sat down on the couch next Nessie. She loved visiting Charlie, and didn't mind the frequent times we spent with him.

"Hey, Nessie." Renesmee reached for and he picked her up, grunting quietly. "Hi, Grandpa." She said. Charlie hugged her for a second and then looked at her. "You've gotten bigger, kiddo." He looked back at me. "What are you feedin' this kid?" He asked jokingly. "Miracle Grow." I replied, grinning. I was sure he didn't want to know what we were really feeding her….

"How are you, Nessie?" He asked her. "Good." She said. Charlie smiled. He put her back on the couch, and sat down to watch the game he had been watching.

A few hours later, after I had had my fill of cheering for a team on an uninteresting baseball game, we started to leave. I paused at the door with Charlie, Renesmee holding my hand. "That was real fun dad. We'll come back soon." _But not_ too _soon_, I thought as I hugged him.

Suddenly Edwards phone rang. He answered it before the second ring, glancing quickly at the caller-id. "Alice?" He answered questioningly. "What?" He waited a few seconds, listening. "All right, Alice. Thank you." He quickly hung up. "Bella, your mother is coming. We need to hurry---. Damn it." He cursed under his breath. "What?! Mom is coming? Why?!" I wasn't ready for this. What could I possibly say to her? "What's going on?" Charlie questioned. "Mom's coming!" I repeated. "Bella, we have to leave. Now." Edward said hurriedly, "She's around the corner." I ran at a human pace, trying to hurry. I put Nessie in the car quickly. "I'm sorry dad, we've got to g---

A familiar car pulled up next to ours. I froze. It was mom's car. Edward stood just as still as I did. I watched in horror as my mother got out of the drivers side. _Why is this happening_? I was internally reeling, but it didn't show on my face. She walked slowly around her car, staring at me.

"Bella? Is that you?"


	3. Ch 3 Confessions

Ch. 3 Confessions

"So what you're saying is…you had to change so you could get better?" Mom was still hyperventilating on the couch, while Charlie patted her hand comfortingly. "It's all right Renee. Bella's still the same person she was before all this." Charlie soothed. We had been trying to calm her down for a half-hour, with little success.

Renee had completely freaked out, so we had brought her inside. Edward and I had explained the situation as best we could without telling her things that could endanger her safety.

"And this mysterious illness is what made you completely avoid me for over two years?" She was obviously angry and hurt. I felt bad about that. "Mom, I'm really sorry… It's just that…I had to keep you safe." I new I was probably just making everything worse, but I had to try something. "That's why we can't tell you the truth."

"It's for your own good, Renee." Edward explained. "If it makes you feel any better, Charlie knows just as little as you do." Renee looked at him oddly, with a certain shrewdness, almost as if she blamed him for my pale skin and golden eyes.

Renesmee had been hiding behind my leg since we had brought Renee into the house. I glanced at her and she looked up at me, with uncertainty in her eyes. Renee looked back at me, then at the child behind me, and sighed. "So I guess I'm a grandma now, huh?" She looked exhausted from her bout of hysteria. Nessie looked at her without saying a word; that would only upset Renee even more. "Yeah, mom. You are." I smiled slightly at her, desperately trying to lift her from her mood. I stepped to the side so she could see Renesmee more clearly. "This is Renesmee." Renee looked surprised, as she got up to talk to her. "Hello, Renesmee." Renee smiled a tired smile, and knelt down beside me. "She's named after you, sort of," I explained. "I combined your name and Esme's…" Renee's looked at me, her eyes wide. "You did?" Edward chuckled behind me. "Yes. I thought you deserved that, at least." I looked at Nessie as I spoke. "Well…thank you, honey…" She said the last word with a bit of uncertainty.

"Mom, did you just come down here for me? What about Phil?" I changed the subject quickly. Renee stood back up and turned towards me. "Bella, I've been worried sick about you. I had no idea what had happened. No one called me—" She glared at Charlie and at me. "I didn't know what to think I didn't know if you died…" She broke off there, sadness crossing her face. I didn't know what to say. I had feared she had thought the worst, but I had never thought about her coming down to see if I was okay. "Mom, I'm fine. Well, better that fine actually. I'm sorry it's been so long, but it was for your own good." Renee gave me a petulant look. "And you think hiding from me, helped?" I looked down at the floor. "No. It didn't. I'm sorry." Renee sighed deeply and shrugged. "Well, at least I know you're okay." She stepped forward to hug me. As she did I felt her shudder from my cold skin. She didn't ask. She let go of me and knelt down in front of Nessie. "You be good, all right?" Renesmee nodded. "Are you leaving Renee?" Charlie asked. "What else is there to do? I came here to make sure Bella was okay, and she is." She stood up and turned towards him. "I'm going home."

"You can stay here for the night. It's already getting dark. You can leave in the morning." Charlie looked sad that she wanted to leave. "All right, Charlie. Just so you won't worry. But I'm leaving early tomorrow morning." Renee assured him. "All right then." Charlie agreed. "Well I guess we'll go…" I turned towards the door when I felt Renee's hand on my shoulder. I turned back towards her and she said. "Bella…I forgive you. I just needed to know that you were safe and happy." She glanced at Edward then back at me. "Mom, I promise I'll call you. And tell Phil I love him, ok?" I smiled. "I will, honey." She hugged me again, without shuddering, then knelt down and hugged Renesmee. I grinned. It looked like things were going much better than I had hoped.


End file.
